Texas_Ace

Howdy everyone!

Well I have been reading these boards for the past week and there is SOOO much good info here (actually there is too much, it is hard to figure out what I want to know).

I am about to be the proud owner of my first 4runner. 2000 4x4 Limited with all the trimmings. Now as soon as I get it I am going to have all the regular maintenance work done; timing belt, water pump (because it is virtually free with the belt), seals, all the fluids changed ect?

Now after that it is an open book, I will be adding a lot of stuff to the truck. My prob is that I don?t know brands/places/styles of parts to get. I want this truck to be a killer looking ride but yet be able to back it up. I won?t be doing any rock climbing but there are some good mudding/off-roading places around here. I want it to be able to take anything I can through at it but yet still be a great daily driver as this is my only car at the moment. Eventually I hope to put a SC on it but for now I am looking at the small things that will help later major upgrades.

So can ya?ll gimme some good places and parts to get to take my ride from basic to killer? One thing I want to know is good brands for 4x4 parts and places to get them at a good price. What parts work and which are not worth it? For now I am looking for the performance mods that will pave the way for the SC and if that was to never happen would help by themselves. Also the less expensive cosmetic mods. I know it is very general, just list what you would do with it if it was yours. Keep in mind I am not looking for the absolute best of everything, just a step below the best.

Thanks in advance.

pepsibluefloat

lockers front and rear would be the first thing i'd get if i had the money. Not sure if yours has rear locking diff stock or not, i dont really know much about that gen 4runner. I'd go with ARB lockers so you can lock/unlock as needed, but they are kinda pricey.

Godzilla

Check out the tech writeups. There are many mods that have been done that will get the ideas rolling. When you know what you are looking for, use the search feature. Your searches will bring up info needed plus the best vendors for it. Check the vendor feedback area to get an idea of who and who not to do business with. If you arent going crazy with offroading dont even consider a locker until you know that you want to get into the sport more.

Texas_Ace

It doesn’t have a locker on it unless the switch is hidden where I can’t find it lol. Unfortunately it has full time 4WD, as that is all they offered in the 2000 limited. I will look at those but as you said they are a little pricy for a guy that just bought a truck. Right now I am looking for the smaller things that will need to be done eventually anyways that I can afford now.

Now after I get some $$ then it is on to the big stuff!!

k_southman

Your truck should have selectable 4WD. There will be a switch on the side of the transfer case shifter to turn AWD on and off. Read your owners manual. My 2000 Limited has a factory Rear Locker but I do not think they all do.

Texas_Ace

Right, it is selectable, by full-time i meant it has a transfer case that acts like a diff. It is not the best for off-roading but it still works.

where do you lock the rear from? I don't actually have the truck yet so i have only the test drives to go by, i am closing the deal next week...

Some of the first things I am looking at are cold air intake, new lights, grill guard, rear tail light guards, winch.... Anything else cheap and good that I should get to start off?

Texas_Ace

I did have a question about the winch, can you mount one to the stock bumper and it be strong enough? I got a friends truck stuck once and the only thing that saved us was his winch or we would still be out there!

Godzilla

If you are keeping the front bumper and want a winch you can get a front receiver bracket (like a front hitch) and Warn has a winch basket that goes into the receiver..that way you can put the winch in when you want..And no, i would not recommend a winch on a stock bumper..at all.

Linko http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-s...ti_mount.shtml

DSN46

What?
You purchased an awsome offroad vehicle that is limited mainly by its IFS.
You can have 4WD with the differential unlocked.... you can have 4WD with the differential locked.... you have Lo side to your transfer case... and if you have a 2000 limited, I'm surprised you dont have a rear locker.

I have a 2000 limited and absolutely love it. Been into Jeeps for the past ten years and just came over to the Toy side of things. I am happier with my Runner than I was with a Cherokee with 5" of lift and 33 MT's and a Lock-Rite in the rear of it! I can take this thing ALOT of places, and once it is lifted this summer with 33's, I plan on going plenty more.

IF you have a rear locker from Toyota, the FIRST thing you can do that will cost you nothing is to do the "Locker Mod" or the "Gray Wire Mod" (but it is not Gray on our Runners... cant remember the color now it has been awhile since I did it)

The second easy/cheap thing you can do Deck-Plate it. Great little modification.

As stated before, just start reading and reading this board. These guys are tops with their knowledge and experience on here!

Good luck, and good choice for a Runner.

James

Whitey13

Like Godzilla stated, check out the tech-section for answers to all your questions.
Don't do a cold air intake, do a deck plate mod...research for the reasons why.
Personally I wouldn't bother with "new lights", unless you mean additional fog or driving lights, but that's just my opinion.
Grill Guards+off-roading=bad idea.They are mostly cosmetic and seriously diminish approach/departure angles. If you REALLY want one, I have one you can buy.
The tail light guards have been known to snag branches off road and do a ton more damage than they prevent.
I'm not sure anyone here has a winch on their 3rd gen. without an aftermarket bumper (TJM, ARB to name a few).

If you have your timing belt done at a dealership, make sure they don't double charge you for the labor involved in changing the water pump.

X-AWDriver

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to yotatech.

jjrgr21

if it has a locker, there will be a "RR dif lock" button on the left side dash of the steering wheel.

jjrgr21

Ric you would agree that if your gonna wheel, some sliders might be a good idea? considering how inexpensive they can be.

http://www.trail-gear.com/rocksliders.html

Texas_Ace

I didn't think it would mount on the stock one. That looks like a nice little gizmo, I will look into it. If it was not for the fact a winch has already saved me once and my friend a few more times I would not even worry about it yet. But i found a harbor fright 8000 lb wrinch on sale for just under $300 so for that price i think i will go for it as i have heard good things about them.

I just saw that locker mod earlier today, I had heard about it but never seen it. And I was also thinking about deckplateing, just didn?t know how much $$ it would cost. I am reading this board almost non-stop (i am off work today :-)), there is sooo much good info. But the search feature doesn't seem to be working very well, i searched for something i know i had seen but could not find it later.


The reason I was looking at the cold air intake was 2 reasons. 1 I had one on my old corolla and it worked great and 2 it would let me use the higher flowing "round" air filters.

And yes I was referring to fog/driving lights, partly for the cool look and partly because driving home at night is a dark and deer like to jump in front of me. More light = more time to react. I might even get one of those top mounted light bars later on but for now a few extra for lights should work.

The deer is the same reason I need a grill guard, I just missed totaling my corolla by a deer once. And I know several people that have totaled there trucks and several that have been saved by a grill guard. Check your PM?s for that one you have.

Now the tail light guards I will have to think about, I had never heard that side of them. I think i will put my $$ elsewhere. Thanks.

And I have a friend that is a mechanic and they are just charging me for the water pump labor as they have to take the belt off anyways. I was taken with something like this years back and I have since switched to using this same mechanic ever since. He does great work.


Thanks, I thought it would be with the 4WD selector. I plan on picking it up early next week, I will check then, I imagine it has it as the sticker price on it new was over 40K, it had all the options. So for 10K i think i am getting a deal as the only thing it needs is the tune up which i would have done anyways.


So true, but I also have that friend with his all mighty *cough* blazer. And he want to try out a good off-road place as soon as I get it and see what is better. So I have the Toyota name to stand up for!


Another good idea, but as you say it really depends on where you drive. Around here there is a lot of mud/sand and streams ect.. I will be adding them before too long though...


Thanks for all the help everyone!!